Oklahoma City Thunder: Why Josh Huestis might become the NBA's first domestic 'draft-and-stash' player

The Thunder announced late Friday afternoon that its NBA Development League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, will relocate in time for the 2014-15 season, joining their parent club in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Josh Huestis works with students as he visits this week’s Thunder Youth Basketball camp at Casady School in Oklahoma City, OK, Thursday, July 17, 2014, Photo by Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman

Even on a slow news day, the announcement barely made a ripple locally, never mind nationally.

But the move could carry significant benefits to the Thunder from a basketball standpoint while also ushering in a new wave throughout the NBA with how the D-League is used for team-building purposes.

Two Thunder draft picks remain unsigned, and the arrival of the 66ers in Oklahoma City stands as confirmation that they’re likely destined to spend the year competing in the D-League.

For guard Semaj Christon, the 55th overall selection out of Xavier, it’s a natural landing spot.

But with Josh Huestis, a first-round selection, the Thunder could be on the verge of breaking ground.

As the 29th overall pick, Huestis would become the first player selected in the first round to forgo his rookie season to sign in the D-League. In other words, he’d be the first-ever domestic “draft-and-stash” player.

NBA teams have long drafted international players and left them overseas, developing on someone else’s dime. But if Huestis signs with the 66ers as expected, he’ll be an American-born, American-bred prospect who, as a first-round pick, could be the flag-bearer for how the NBA envisions the future of the D-League.

In its push for a true minor league system, the NBA has invested heavily in the D-League. Expansion has become a priority, call-ups a regularity, and rules have been relaxed to make it easier for teams to use their affiliates.

The D-League is expanding to a record 18 teams next season, seven of which will be fully owned and operated by their NBA parent club. The goal is for all 30 NBA teams to have a single affiliate, and things are headed in that direction. A record 14 NBA teams had single NBA D-League affiliates last season.

There were 49 call-ups for 37 players last year, up from 36 call-ups for 31 players in the 2012-13 season.

The system is headed in the right direction.

Huestis would represent another significant milestone.

His selection, which on draft night was viewed as a duplicate of last year’s pick, Andre Roberson, also would make more sense. By taking Huestis with the second-to-last selection in the first round, the Thunder secured another critically cost-effective rookie scale contract. The difference is that standard four-year deal — two guaranteed years and two team options in the final two seasons — would come on the back end of a preliminary year in the D-League and ensures the Thunder would have Huestis developing in its program for at least five seasons.

It’s forward-thinking at its finest.

By going this route, the Thunder saves a roster spot and some precious salary for a season but also retains Huestis’ restricted free agency rights at the end of his fourth NBA season, affording OKC with the first chance to extend his contract.

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by Darnell Mayberry

OKC Thunder Senior Reporter

Darnell Mayberry grew up in Langston, Okla. and is now in his third stint in the Sooner state. After a year and a half at Bishop McGuinness High, he finished his prep years in Falls Church, Va., before graduating from Norfolk State University in...